Why Germany's Deutsche Bahn will face delays for many years
Key takeaways
- Delayed, unreliable and forced into long detours due to construction: Germany no longer sets the pace when it comes to rail travel — and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
- All train services were stopped, and thousands of passengers were left stranded overnight because control centers and train drivers could no longer communicate with one another.
- The extreme summer heat has brought even more trouble.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Delayed, unreliable and forced into long detours due to construction: Germany no longer sets the pace when it comes to rail travel — and this is unlikely to change anytime soon. The company is mired in a deep crisis.
https://p.dw.com/p/5G6nn The majority of German trains are either canceled or delayed Image: Frank Hoermann/Sven Simon/picture alliance Advertisement On Tuesday, everything at Deutsche Bahn suddenly came to a halt when a malfunction occurred during scheduled maintenance of the outdated GSM-R railway radio system.
All train services were stopped, and thousands of passengers were left stranded overnight because control centers and train drivers could no longer communicate with one another.